NEW YORK » Wall Street put an upbeat spin yesterday on the government's report that the nation lost more than half a million jobs last month. Stocks reversed early losses and closed sharply higher as the data raised hopes that Washington will again step in to help the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 260 points as investors' shock dissipated over the U.S. Labor Department's report that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November compared with the 320,00 that economists forecast.

Ultimately, even a terrible reading on employment wasn't surprising to a market that has been drubbed by a stream of bad economic news.

Stock market investors who originally sold yesterday after the employment figures had a change of heart by afternoon, believing the numbers could make the government more likely to supply more aid for the economy. They also appeared relieved by the market's relatively cool reaction to the data — trading was orderly and the huge loss of jobs didn't spark the type of massive sell-off it might have even a month ago when Wall Street still trying to determine how severe the recession would be.

Job losses were widespread, hitting manufacturing, construction, retail, financial and other sectors.

Beyond the hopes for more aggressive moves by the government, strength in the tattered financial sector also gave a boost to the overall market yesterday. An upbeat forecast from Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. cut through some of investors' fears that profits among financial firms would continue to spiral lower; the company raised its profit expectations for the year and quelled some concerns about the strength of its balance sheet.

The Dow industrials jumped 259.18, or 3.09 percent, to 8,635.42 after falling by 258 and rising as much as 310 in the volatile trading late in the session.

Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 30.85, or 3.65 percent, to 876.07, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 63.75, or 4.41 percent, to 1,509.31.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.56, or 4.91 percent, to 461.09.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated trading volume came to a light 6.03 billion shares, compared with 5.7 billion traded Thursday. Thin trading can exacerbate the market's moves.

For the week, the Dow fell 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 declined 2.3 percent and the Nasdaq fell 1.7 percent.

Bond prices fell as stocks turned higher — ending a winning streak that had sent yields to record lows for much of the week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, jumped to 2.70 percent from 2.56 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.02 percent from 0.01 percent late Thursday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $2.86 to settle at $40.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concerns about the economy and weakening energy demand have kept oil prices near four-year lows. The price of oil has fallen a staggering 72 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July.